When news broke about the mass shooting at a gay nightclub in Florida, Qais Munhazim’s first response was sadness. His second was action.
The political science Ph.D. student at the University of Minnesota is a Muslim, as was the shooter. Munhazim also has something in common with most of the victims: He is gay.
After the worst mass shooting in U.S. history, LGBT Muslims in Minnesota have found themselves suddenly under scrutiny. They stand at the crossroads of two intersecting identities, both of which make them feel like outsiders. They are small in number, and few are willing to speak out for fear of recrimination. But as they experience Islamophobia from some in the LGBT community and homophobia by some who share their religion, they are banding together to create a community of their own.
For the first time, LGBT Muslims and their allies will march in the Twin Cities Pride Parade this Sunday. The group, which Munhazim organized, is intended to “show GLBTQ Muslims exist, and, at the same time, that not all Muslims are against homosexuality,” Munhazim said. “Islam is a very diverse religion.”
The Muslim population in the state is small but growing, with about 1 percent of Minnesotans practicing Islam. Because LGBT Muslims often meet with disapproval from their families and religious communities, those who are out tend to keep a low profile. The shooting at Pulse changed that.
“It has put our identity at the center of the conversation in this way we never expected,” said Nasreen Mohamed, a Muslim who identifies as queer and gender nonconforming. “It’s almost like people are bewildered that queer Muslims exist.”
After the shooting, Munhazim felt as if he didn’t have either community to turn to for support. Among the LGBT community, he’s been asked about his religion and nationality. “They look at me like I’m responsible,” he said. He can’t talk about how he feels with his family back in Kabul, because he hasn’t told them about his sexuality. “I feel like I don’t belong to any of them, no matter how much I want to be part of all of these,” he said.
Some people both inside and outside the religion see Islam — like many other religions, including Christianity — as incompatible with homosexuality.
The Qur’an is “pretty explicit in the fact that it is saying that this is not a lifestyle, or life choice, that is recognized as legitimate for Muslims,” said Imam Makram El-Amin of Minneapolis’s Masjid An-Nur. “It is not recognized as being what God intended for humans in terms of their relationships with one another.”
Yet, in the wake of the Orlando shooting, some Minnesota Muslims have come out in support of the LGBT community. The day of the shooting, the Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) issued a statement condemning the attack.
“Someone killed innocent life,” said Jaylani Hussein, CAIR-MN executive director, “and we’re all outraged and horrified by that incident. This wasn’t about how Muslims feel about theological viewpoints when it comes to homosexuality.”
Reem El-Radi is planning on marching in the Pride parade. As a straight Muslim she feels compelled to show her support of her LGBT friends.
“It’s just insane not to be moved by it,” she said of the Orlando shooting.
Homophobia is a function of culture, not just religion, said Nasreen Mohamed, co-organizer of the parade group. Growing up Ismaili Muslim in Tanzania, Mohamed’s family offered acceptance.
“I always tell people I have a very boring coming out story; it’s not dramatic,” said Mohamed, who is the director of international student engagement at the University of Minnesota. “I may be the anomaly, but I think my experience is not unusual.”
Mohamed has seen interest in the local LGBT Muslim community grow since the Orlando shooting.
Still, Mohamed is bracing for a “wave of backlash” against Muslims in the United States.
Anytime there is an attack in the news, Mohamed said, “there is always this knot in your stomach” among Muslims who worry what will happen if the perpetrator shares their faith.
“It’s like, ‘Oh God, here we go again,’ ” said Aaneesah Amatullah, who works in special education in Minneapolis. “We can’t get out of this negative spotlight.”
Amatullah converted to Islam from Christianity when she was 18. She married and divorced, suppressing her attraction to women until her late 30s, when she came out to her family.
Though her mother and her children accepted her, she feels, at times, alone. She tears up thinking about the richness and beauty of traditional Islamic weddings, knowing she could not have one with a same-sex partner.
Amatullah, who’s of Cuban descent, feels the shooting deeply, because it took place during a Latin dance party and most of the victims were Hispanic. “It’s definitely hit home,” she said. “It’s so much of what I am.”
At the same time, she has been heartened to see Muslims show their support of the LGBT community, like when hundreds of Muslims gathered in New York City to break their fast and pray for victims of Orlando. A similar event was planned in Minneapolis on Friday night.
“That gave me hope,” she said. “Slowly but surely, the Muslim community will be looking at things differently.”